Chip Credit Cards Give Retailers Another Grievance Against Banks - New York Times - "Retailers complain that they have spent billions of dollars upgrading their payment terminals to accommodate a system that cuts down only on the fraud shouldered by banks, not merchants. Chip and PIN, long the standard in Europe, would help retailers verify not just the card, but the person using it."

a16z Podcast: Blockchain vs./and Bitcoin - A16Z - "Clearly many large business players are paying attention and trying to get ahead of disruption, by asking themselves exactly what their bitcoin/blockchain strategy is. Adam Ludwin shares what’s happening here from his perspective as founder of Chain, an enterprise blockchain platform that partners with financial institutions to help them apply the technology to their markets."

Western Union Offers New Global Money Transfer Service on WeChat - “Given the proliferation of social media around the world, we are expanding our activities in this exciting area. It only makes sense to include the WeChat platform as part of the company’s innovative digital money transfer capabilities. By teaming with WeChat and deploying the WU Connect platform to its U.S. users, Western Union is offering yet another new method for consumers to move money worldwide."

Global Payments Announces Support for Apple Pay in Canada - “Following successful enablement in the U.S. and the UK, Global Payments is pleased to be one of the first providers in Canada to offer merchants the exciting opportunity to accept Apple Pay,” said Frank T. Young, SVP, Global Product and Innovation.

Align Commerce Closes $12.5 Million Series A Round Led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) - "For far too long the cost and complications of existing payment systems have hindered startups and SMBs from fully capitalizing on global trade,” said Marwan Forzley, CEO of Align Commerce. “The Align Commerce platform cuts through time-consuming red tape and excessive fees that have unnecessarily burdened users. Existing systems have seen little innovation in the face of game-changing new technologies, and the entire experience is overdue for a radically different approach.”

First Data and NCR Sign Strategic Commercial Agreement - "First Data will be a preferred provider of cybersecurity and payment processing solutions to NCR’s customers in the grocery, petroleum and convenience store industries. NCR will be a preferred provider of ATM hardware and services to First Data’s client base of more than 4,000 financial institutions. The two industry leaders will also pursue co-development of integrated commerce technology solutions for U.S. merchant clients."

Synchrony Financial Announces Completion of Separation from GE - “This is an historic day for Synchrony Financial,” stated Margaret Keane, president and CEO of Synchrony Financial. “Today we launch the next stage in our company’s future – pursuing a long-term strategy focused on Synchrony’s business objectives as a stand-alone company. I am very proud of our employees, who have prepared us for this day, while continuing to serve our partners and customers and to grow our business.”

The Strawhecker Group has announced the availability of its fourth annual 2007 US Merchant Processing Pricing Benchmark Study prepared by surveying the merchant acquiring industry to determine the prevailing line item pricing rates for high volume merchant processing.

The Strawhecker Group, a new Omaha-based consulting firm focused on the merchant acquiring sector of the card payments industry, has just published the first issue of Exchanges (PDF), a new newsletter for clients and friends of the firm. The inaugural issue includes an article by Cliff Gray of the importance of PCI compliance to ISO's and acquirers along with news about a new eCommerce Gateway Analysis the firm recently completed.